This page provides general information about notable

Linux distribution A Linux distribution, often abbreviated as distro, is an operating system that includes the Linux kernel for its kernel functionality. Although the name does not imply product distribution per se, a distro—if distributed on its own—is oft ...

s in the form of a categorized list. Distributions are organized into sections by the major distribution or

package management system A package manager or package management system is a collection of software tools that automates the process of installing, upgrading, configuring, and removing computer programs for a computer in a consistent manner. A package manager deals wi ...

they are based on.

Debian-based

Debian Debian () is a free and open-source software, free and open source Linux distribution, developed by the Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock in August 1993. Debian is one of the oldest operating systems based on the Linux kerne ...

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of the names "Deb" and "Ian") Linux is a distribution that emphasizes

free software Free software, libre software, libreware sometimes known as freedom-respecting software is computer software distributed open-source license, under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, distribut ...

. It supports many hardware platforms. Debian and distributions based on it use the .deb package format and the

dpkg dpkg is the software at the base of the package management system in the free software, free operating system Debian and its numerous Debian family, derivatives. dpkg is used to install, remove, and provide information about deb (file format), . ...

package manager and its frontends (such as apt or synaptic).

Ubuntu-based

Ubuntu Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed primarily of free and open-source software. Developed by the British company Canonical (company), Canonical and a community of contributors under a Meritocracy, meritocratic gover ...

(named after the Nguni philosophy of ''

ubuntu Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed primarily of free and open-source software. Developed by the British company Canonical (company), Canonical and a community of contributors under a Meritocracy, meritocratic gover ...

'') is a distribution based on Debian, designed to have regular releases, a consistent user experience and commercial support on both desktops and servers.

Current official derivatives

These Ubuntu variants, also known as Ubuntu flavours, simply install a set of packages different from the original Ubuntu, but since they draw additional packages and updates from the same repositories as Ubuntu, all of the same software is available for each of them.

Discontinued official derivatives

Unofficial derivatives

Unofficial variants and derivatives are not controlled or guided by Canonical Ltd. and generally have different goals in mind.

Knoppix-based

Knoppix Knoppix, stylized KNOPPIX ( ), is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD or DVD (Live CD) or a USB flash drive ( Live USB). It was first released in 2000 by German Linux consultant Klaus Knopper, and was one ...

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of the surname ''Knopper'' from Klaus Knopper and

Unix Unix (, ; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multi-user computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, a ...

) itself is based on Debian. It is a live distribution, with automated hardware configuration and a wide choice of software, which is decompressed as it loads from the drive.

Other Debian-based

Pacman-based

Pacman is a package manager that is capable of resolving dependencies and automatically downloading and installing all necessary packages. It is primarily developed and used by

Arch Linux Arch Linux () is an Open-source software, open source, rolling release Linux distribution. Arch Linux is kept up-to-date by regularly updating the individual pieces of software that it comprises. Arch Linux is intentionally minimal, and is meant ...

and its derivatives.

Arch Linux-based

is an independently developed, x86-64 general-purpose Linux distribution that strives to provide the latest stable versions of most software by following a rolling-release model. The default installation is a minimal base system—configured by the user to only add what is purposely required.

Other Pacman-based

RPM-based

Red Hat Linux Red Hat Linux was a widely used commercial open-source Linux distribution created by Red Hat until its discontinuation in 2004. Early releases of Red Hat Linux were called Red Hat Commercial Linux. Red Hat published the first non-beta release ...

and

SUSE Linux openSUSE () is a free and open-source Linux distribution developed by the openSUSE project. It is offered in two main variations: ''Tumbleweed'', an upstream rolling release distribution, and ''Leap'', a stable release distribution which is so ...

were the original major distributions that used the .rpm file format, which today is used in several package management systems. Both of these were later divided into commercial and community-supported distributions. Red Hat Linux was divided into a community-supported but

Red Hat Red Hat, Inc. (formerly Red Hat Software, Inc.) is an American software company that provides open source software products to enterprises and is a subsidiary of IBM. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North ...

-sponsored distribution named

Fedora A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides ...

, and a commercially supported distribution called

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a commercial Linux distribution developed by Red Hat. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86-64, Power ISA, ARM64, and IBM Z and a desktop version for x86-64. Fedora Linux and ...

, whereas SUSE Linux was divided into

openSUSE openSUSE () is a free and open-source software, free and open-source Linux distribution developed by the openSUSE project. It is offered in two main variations: ''Tumbleweed'', an upstream rolling release distribution, and ''Leap'', a stable r ...

and SUSE Linux Enterprise.

Fedora-based

is a community supported distribution. It aims to provide the latest software while maintaining a completely

Free Software Free software, libre software, libreware sometimes known as freedom-respecting software is computer software distributed open-source license, under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, distribut ...

system.

RHEL-based

is a commercial open-source Linux distribution developed by

for the commercial market.

Other Fedora-based

openSUSE-based

is a community-developed Linux distribution, sponsored by SUSE. It maintains a strict policy of ensuring all code in the standard installs will be from

FOSS Free and open-source software (FOSS) is software available under a license that grants users the right to use, modify, and distribute the software modified or not to everyone free of charge. FOSS is an inclusive umbrella term encompassing free ...

solutions, including

Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...

kernel Modules. SUSE's enterprise Linux products are all based on the codebase that comes out of the openSUSE project.

Mandriva-based

Mandriva Linux Mandriva Linux, a fusion of the French distribution Mandrake Linux and the Brazilian distribution Conectiva Linux, is a discontinued Linux distribution developed by Mandriva S.A. Each release lifetime was 18 months for base updates (Linux, syste ...

is open-source distribution (with exceptions), discontinued in 2011. The first release was named Mandrake Linux and based on Red Hat Linux (version 5.1) and

KDE KDE is an international free software community that develops free and open-source software. As a central development hub, it provides tools and resources that enable collaborative work on its projects. Its products include the KDE Plasma gra ...

1 in July 1998. It had since moved away from Red Hat's distribution and became a completely separate distribution. The name was changed to Mandriva, which included a number of original tools, mostly to ease system configuration. Mandriva Linux was the brainchild of

Gaël Duval Gaël Duval (born 1973) is a French entrepreneur. In July 1998, he created Mandrake Linux (which became Mandriva Linux, now discontinued), a Linux distribution originally based on Red Hat Linux and KDE. He was also a co-founder of MandrakeSoft ( ...

, who wanted to focus on ease of use for new users. The last stable version was in 2011. Mandriva's developers moved to

Mageia Mageia is a Linux-based operating system, distributed as free and open-source software. It was forked from the Mandriva Linux distribution. The Greek term () means enchantment, fascination, glamour, wizardry. The first release of the software ...

and

OpenMandriva OpenMandriva Lx is a general-purpose Linux distribution A Linux distribution, often abbreviated as distro, is an operating system that includes the Linux kernel for its kernel functionality. Although the name does not imply product distribu ...

Other RPM-based

Gentoo-based

Gentoo is a distribution designed to have highly optimized and frequently updated software. Distributions based on Gentoo use the

Portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

package management system with emerge or one of the alternative package managers.

Slackware-based

Slackware Slackware is a Linux distribution created by Patrick Volkerding in 1993. Originally based on Softlanding Linux System (SLS), Slackware has been the basis for many other Linux distributions, most notably the first versions of SUSE Linux distr ...

is a highly customizable distribution that stresses ease of maintenance and reliability over cutting-edge software and automated tools. It is generally considered a distribution for advanced users.

Android-based

Android is a mobile operating system bought and currently being developed by

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

, based on a Google modified

Linux kernel The Linux kernel is a Free and open-source software, free and open source Unix-like kernel (operating system), kernel that is used in many computer systems worldwide. The kernel was created by Linus Torvalds in 1991 and was soon adopted as the k ...

and designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as

smartphones A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as mult ...

and tablets. Despite Android's core mobile focus, some laptop oriented derivatives like Android-x86 have come out over the years since its initial release.

Source-based

Other distributions

The following distributions have not been categorized under the preceding sections.

Historical distributions

References

External links

Linux free distros
(

Free Software Foundation The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by Richard Stallman on October 4, 1985. The organisation supports the free software movement, with the organization's preference for software being distributed ...

)
Repository tracking

The LWN.net Linux Distribution List
– Categorized list with information about each entry.
Distrowatch
– Announcements, information, links and popularity ranking for many Linux distributions.
Linux Distros
– Information and ISO files for many oldest Linux distributions. {{FOSS

Linux Distributions A Linux distribution, often abbreviated as distro, is an operating system that includes the Linux kernel for its kernel (operating system), kernel functionality. Although the name does not imply distribution (marketing), product distribution pe ...